Integrated circuits are typically formed on a wafer, which is then cut to singulate the individual dies. Singulating the dies may sometimes result in cracks that propagate from the dicing saw throughout the wafer and into the integrated circuit. For semiconductor devices including low-k (low-dielectric constant) interlayer dielectrics, the cracking problem may be even more problematic due at least in part to the poor adhesion and fragility of low-K dielectrics.
Some have attempted to mitigate cracking by laser-grooving the saw streets prior to sawing. Laser-grooving is accompanied by its own problems including the time-consuming aspect of laser-grooving the streets one at a time. As dies become even smaller, the time required to laser-groove all streets increases. Furthermore, laser-grooving is known to result in contamination of the dies from the settling of material vaporized by the laser. This contamination may result in degradation of the reliability of the dies.